In families where both parents speak the same language, and that is different from the language of the society or the dominant language, parents might naturally use their language when speaking to each other and to their children.
If you are a parent who is trying to keep up a language in a context where very few people support you, being consistent with your approach and your language choices can be hard.
Parents often feel overwhelmed and inadequate when it comes to raising children in general, but the added stress of being the only person trying to pass on a language can make parents feel like they are not good enough, especially if the child tends to respond in the majority language.
At some point every parent of a bilingual child wonders if there is a special tip to boost one of the languages. There is one very special ingredient that we can all work on.
You have met families who swear by the One Parent One Language (OPOL) strategy, and others who only speak the minority language at home, others who speak a specific language only some of the time, and you are now wondering who is doing it right.
Did you know that many of the world’s English language users are not native speakers of English? For so many years language learners have strived to become “like a native speaker”, with flawless grammar and pronunciation.
For many parents the first stumbling block is at the very start… is bilingualism a good idea? Is it common? Will my child grow up to feel different from everyone else?
With an ever-growing bilingual population, it is important to be aware of the benefits that bilingualism can bring. This can be helpful for parents, teachers and anyone responsible for advising and supporting those who raise and educate children who speak more than one language.
Bilingual children can become biliterate if they have access to literacy instruction in both languages. Biliteracy or dual literacy refers to the ability to read and write in two languages.
Every family’s multilingual journey is unique, and there is no secret formula for success. However, there are some key conditions that can impact children’s linguistic development.